The Road to My Craftroom is Paved With Good Intentions...

During our recent move, a friend pointed out that a lot of our furniture looked like stuff that came from Grandma's house. I didn't take offense, because he's right.  Over the years we have collected an eclectic bunch of furnishings, and while we have inherited a few pieces (some, yes, from Grandma's house) most are pieces we have by choice, either rescued from family purges or purchased at antique shops, second hand stores, or auctions.

But that's a post for a different time...

A few pieces were acquired / rescued / kept because of their potential.  And, OK, yes, a large dose of sentimentality. These items are the ones that we are going to "re-finish." "Re-finishing" is right up there with "make a cover for," "make potpourri out of," and "send to Goodwill" on the big list of GREAT IDEAS BUT WHO ARE YOU KIDDING?

For two of these items (a vanity and a sideboard) our procrastination has not been a big deal.  These items are functional, albeit covered by several generations of paint.  You see, our predecessors' had the good sense to know that they were too busy to "re-do" furniture, choosing instead to slap on a fresh coat of paint when an item needed freshening up.  I really think the distressed trend from several years ago came to be because a group of crafty folks gave up on trying to remove 100 years worth of various paints and said, "Oh for Pete's sake, just leave it like that."  As Kermit once sang, "Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it..." and shabby chic was born...

But I digress.  The third item on deck for "re-finishing" is an antique Singer sewing machine and case, purchased in, wait for it! 1996.  To re-finish.  Oh yes.

It lived in my parent's barn for several years, until one day my parents (who actually do re-finish things) were working on their own projects and stripped it for me.  Then, it went back into the barn for another few years, after which my dear Dad declared that he needed the space and I would need to pick up my squatter.  By now I was married with my own place and should have picked it up years earlier, but it seemed happy living with my parents.  And so, we brought it home, with plans to "re-finish" it. 


It's moved four times since then, each time elicited curses and curiosity from our movers, be they paid or volunteer.  Turns out everyone wants an old Singer to "re-finish".


And so, it's on deck, once again this summer, for some love.  IF I get this project rolling it will definitely be post fodder, so no more about my poor, neglected Singer for now.  Because all this talk about procrastination projects has got me thinking about what's lurking in my craft room bins...


Oh don't be smug.  Despite all the picture perfect craft room shots you've posted, I KNOW with certainty that those pics were taken AFTER a clean-up.  I know this because I do the same thing.  For all we moan about it, we are secretly proud of our stashes; after all, we wouldn't need craft rooms if everything fit neatly into one box, now would we?  And yet, for all I love my room 'o treasures, I do occasionally feel a twinge of guilt and regret for the Lost Projects, those that really didn't make it out of the starting gate, but who live in hope of one day breaking free from their Rubbermaids, and maybe, just maybe, experiencing the joys of completion.


We'll see...


In the spirit of being honest, here is a by-no-means complete list of the Lost Projects, complete with approximate start date and a guesstimate as to their likelihood of being completed.  Here we go:

• Embroidery floss, needles, hoops, and patterns Last used - Superficially, as a play prop in the early ought's. Voluntarily, for a week in 1996 (bad year for starting things, apparently). Vocationally, for two summers in the mid 2000's.                                                              Odds of Completion - It's looking good!  Inspired by retro styles, I've been considering stitching up some cute atomic accented pieces on pillows, aprons, pot holders and the like.  Stay tuned...

• Ancient Cutlery and Rubber Mallet (for making funky silverware jewelery)                                        Last Used - The Millennium.                                          Odds of being Used Again - Not good.  Turns out pounding a fork into a bracelet is a lot harder than it looks.  So many people do this well, I'd rather just support them.  And my husband took the mallet for his tool box years ago. 

• Crochet hook and cotton yarn                                  Last used - To crochet - About nine months ago.  As a knitting tool - About 4 months ago.                                 Odds of completion - Guardedly optimistic. I prefer knitting, but I think I could get into crocheting with a bit more instruction. 

• Tatting Spool                                                                     Last Used - Never                                                           Odds of completion - Never.  Tatted lace is not something I aspire to learn.  The spool came into my possession after my Aunt Irene, an amazingly talented crafter, passed.  I keep it out of sentiment and as a piece of inspiration from a simpler time where quality meant doing it yourself.

• Half of one man's sock (on needles) - I decided, one cold January night, that my  husband needed real wool socks for those cold nights on the job.                                                                                      Last used - One cold, February night. It's now June.  He wore McGregor's for the rest of those cold, Winter nights.   Odds of completion - Actually, pretty good!  I love to knit, his socks just got put on the back burner when I started looking for work, and a new house, simultaneously.

I could keep going, but for the sake of time and my self-esteem I will stop now.  Why, you might ask, are the supplies for these Lost Projects still in my possession?  Well, I might get to them someday!  But more so, I like bumping into them, so to speak, when I'm rummaging through a bin of fabric or a box of beads.  Seeing those forks and spoons, for example, reminds me of the "Little White Church" that I grew up next to, that was the spiritual home to my ancestors and that I thrilled to enter as a child (it was a rare treat reserved for Fall Fairs, Vacation Bible School, and the occasional wedding.) I got the cutlery at an auction of the church's contents just before it was demolished, breaking our hearts even as we knew it was necessary. I'll find a use for them (shadow box, wind chimes?) but in the meantime they take up little room and do no harm. And so they will stay, along with many other Lost Projects and their supplies.  When I need to purge, there is plenty of fabric and scrap-booking stuff that, while lovely, until it is formed into a memory, holds little emotional meaning for me.  

And so of course, dear readers, I turn the podium to you.  What are your Lost Projects?  Come now, don't be shy, I'm sure there must be some doozies out there somewhere!  If I can admit to hauling a sewing machine around for 15 years, you can tell me about your taxidermy projects or plastic canvas nightmares.  Out with it!!!
 

The Thrifting Continues...And Filing, Too!

The weather has been cool and crisp the last few days, and it feels like "Back to School."  Of course, I haven't gone "Back to School" in years.  Despite that, I still feel like going shopping for school supplies.  As an adult, I fulfill that urge by purchasing office supplies.

Oh, office supplies, how I love you!  One of the highlights of my professional career was that, in many of my positions, I was responsible for office supplies.  Pens, sticky notes, correction fluid, notebooks, folders and files.  Oh the files and folders were the best!  I adore filing systems!  

Yes, it is safe to say that I truly love office supplies and filing systems.  Yet strangely, I have never successfully implemented a filing system at home.  We've tried a couple options, and we can always find what we need, but when compared to the meticulously organized systems I've maintained in the workplace, my own system was sadly lacking.  Many times we agreed to do something about it, but we never seemed to get around to it.  

Until now.

We recently purchased a filing cabinet at our local thrift store.  It is missing its lock, but that's OK, and it has a sticker on the front, but other than that it's in pretty good shape!  I am toying around with the idea of getting some spray paint and painting it a funky colour, but for now it is going to be put into use "as is".  In this spirit, we picked up some folders and files on our recent trip to town.  I was getting excited; I was getting to indulge in two loves - filing and shopping for office supplies!

Tonight, I took my new supplies and sat down with some Sharpie markers and labeled the folders and files.  I made a few categories, like "Utilites," "Accounts," and "Household," and then spent a happy hour neatly printing "Hydro," "Gas," and lots of other prosaic stuff on manila folders.  And I loved it!

Tomorrow I'm going to get out the not-so-system we are using right now and refile everything into the new cabinet. I can always take the files out if I decide to spruce it up a bit.  The cabinet is going to live in my husband's study so I will have to take this into consideration if I'm going to paint it.  If I do pretty it up, I'll be sure to document it for a future post. For now, I've included a picture of with my pretty kitty, Junior Mint, lounging in front of it.  We put it on one of her favorite blankets so it wouldn't scratch the floor while I'm doing my filing, thus the rare picture of our elusive white cat.

Normally I would not share a picture featuring a velour blanket on the floor, but so rarely do we get a photo op with Mint that I couldn't not share.  She literally walked (okay, rolled) in front of the camera.  So enjoy!

Sigh.  Some people get excited about racing, sailing, or sports. I get passionate about office supplies and filing.  It takes all kinds!  Is there anything "nerdy" that you secretly enjoy?

Have a great weekend!  I'll see you on Monday!

Hidden Treasure

One of the (many) great things about reading blogs is that I get inspired.  I have found so many amazing ideas, projects, and recipes that I want to try that I don't think I will ever get to all of it!  But recently, I decided to try my hand at one of the activities I'd read about that seemed particularly intriguing: thrifting.

As far as I can gather, "thrifting" refers to the process of shopping at a thrift shop, that is, a second hand store.  Not necessarily an "antique" store, but a store who's function is to sell second hand items, no matter what their vintage.  Back home in Cape Breton, I'd loved going "thrifting" with my mother; she is one of those people who is always making amazing discoveries at second hand and antique stores.  Indeed, I owe many of my better "finds" to her shrewd eye.  However, it took me a while to get back into thrifting in Kitimat.

We started going to the local thrift store more frequently and we began to find some real treasures.  Once, it was a pair of marble rook bookends which found a home in my book and chess loving husband's study.  Another day we found a metal mortar and pestle which I will use to grind oilier, more fragrant spices so that my marble one will not get discoloured.  And then finally, one day, we struck gold!

Now, don't get all excited. We've all heard of people buying "costume" jewelery at a thrift shop only to discover that they'd acquired an expensive bauble for mere pennies.  No, what we found was gold in colour alone.  

We found brass. In pairs.

First, we found the ducks.  There they were, sitting atop an old shelf, gleaming in the afternoon sun.  I couldn't decide if they were wonderful or hideous, but I was leaning toward wonderful.  I like ducks, and these were lovely shiny ducks.  We also love literature, and our home is full of books that, well, sometimes need something to hold them up.  And so, I decided to point them out to my husband, who was perusing, you guessed it, more books.  Well, as luck would have it, he loved them too, and so the shiny fellows came home with us. (They are nowhere near as smudgy as my photo would imply, I'm going to blame this picture on my camera.)  We haven't decided yet exactly where they will end up, but for now they are hanging out on our end tables, keeping company with our next shiny find...


Lamps!

Brass lamps!  I know, I know, if someone had suggested brass lamps to me I would have told them they were crazy (well no, I'm too nice to have actually verbalized that, but I would have thought it).  But, one day while browsing I noticed them and decided to take a closer look.  However, upon approaching the display I noticed that they had both the glass hurricane and wick key of oil lamps, and disregarded them as such.  I was later informed that they were indeed electric lamps, and I hastened in to purchase them.  My husband and I had a bit of a laugh over all our shiny purchases, but we realized that surprisingly, the brass items complemented many of the items we had in our living room. On our mantel we display a small pile of favorite books as well as a few nautical tools, both of which have gold coloured accents.  The hardware on our doors is brass.  And so our new items, which seemed so "not us," actually fit into our home quite well!

We love our living room now!  It's really coming together nicely.  It still needs a few things but our "thrifted" items really brought the room together and have given us focus as to how to decorate the room.  We purchased a few brass frames to contrast with the black ones we were already using and I have to say, all in all the golden touches have really warmed up the space. 


Have you found a treasure in a thrift store?  If so, I'd love to hear about it!  Have a great week and I'll see you on Wednesday!